The collection of data for subjects walking upon a floor is accomplished by laying out a pressure sensitive instrument panel. The subject walks along the panel, and data is communicated to a computer by hard wiring. This is routinely used for analyzing the gait of humans or animals. The apparatus is an over ground system using a long pressure sensor matrix laid under a carpeted walkway, which in recent years has proven to be highly accurate and easy to use in both research and clinical practice.
Such a pressure sensitive instrument panel can be used for medical and veterinary diagnosis of walking problems. It can also be used for security, to determine in real time where a subject is and in what direction the subject is moving within the space.
An exemplary pressure sensor matrix is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,585, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. This patent is the basis of a product entitled, “GAITRITE®,” which a 2 foot wide portable walkway system with a maximum length of 26 feet. The Gaitrite apparatus is the Gold Standard in the evaluation of Pressure based Temporal/Spatial gait analysis worldwide. The Gaitrite apparatus nevertheless has limitations, including width and length restrictions. Furthermore, the system had to be directly connected to a computer via cable. This limits the ability to walk in other than a straight line or a confined U turn. Over the years many systems have attempted and failed to provide more open walking surface or easy connectivity. All these systems to date have been too restrictive in ease of installation and in flexibility of layout options. One problem has been laying down custom pathways along which the subject can walk. The pathway selections are very limited, and cannot be changed. Another problem has been wiring the pressure sensor matrix for signal and power. These systems require custom wiring under the sensors.
There is a need, therefore, for a pressure sensitive walkway for data collection which does not require any custom hard wiring.
There is a further need for a pressure sensitive walkway for data collection as described, and that has pathways that can be reconfigured selectively.
There is a yet further need for a pressure sensitive walkway for data collection as described, and that can be installed by one person with limited skills and no tools.
There is a still further need for a pressure sensitive walkway for data collection as described, and that can be monitored locally or remotely.